Balance
by ShimmeringJade
Summary: [AU] He always thought he protected her always. But when he starts questioning what will happen in their future, and if they'll still be best friends, he realizes that she gives him a kind of strength, too...[Kiba x Hinata fluffy oneshot.]


**SJ: Hola, my lufflys. Como stas?**

**-Blank stares; crickets chirp-**

**Sorry. XD Just speaking simple Spanish…except for the 'my lufflys' part, of course, lol.**

**Anyway, you're probably wondering what kind of oneshot I've written now, right?**

**Well, I wrote this without really thinking—I _needed_ to write something! All the ideas were crowding my mind, and…_ugh_—so if it seems a bit weird, then there's my excuse. It's a small AU Kiba x Hinata oneshot about how them balancing each other out (opposites, remember?) and I hope it turned out okay.**

**I'm also thinking about starting my own drabble/oneshot collection for _Naruto._ Hm…might happen, might not. Ah well; comments are welcome on the idea. **

**So read, and enjoy. (Reviews are welcome, too, but not truly necessary. : 3 Flames however, are a different story.)**

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_**Title:**_ "Balance"

_**Couple:**_ Kiba x Hinata friendship/love Naruto Series

_**Summary:**_ AU He was always there for her; protecting her, comforting her, making her smile. She was always there for him; making him feel like somebody special, making him smile, and comforting him. And as they play the swings, he realizes something important…

**_Warnings_:** None really, except for some light swearing from Kiba, and a bit of fluff at the end. (Corny ending, mind you, so just watch that. xD)

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Sometimes, Kiba doesn't really think about things before he does them. 

He doesn't think before he speaks; he doesn't think before he does something (this usually happens during homework, and he screws up on everything); and he doesn't even take a mere _second_ to think when it comes to Hinata Hyuuga.

_Especially _Hinata.

Whether it's when she's being bullied—"_Yo. My name's Kiba Inuzuka— AKA the dude who's gonna kick your damn ass to hell and back if you don't stop bugging my friend there!_"—or when she's crying—"_H-Hina-chan…stop crying, okay? How about some ice cream to cheer you up? Will that make you happy?_"—he never really pauses to think about himself.

Only her, and always her.

It's always been like that. Even since they were just little kids, barely learning their numbers and the alphabet, did Kiba Inuzuka stick up and protect Hinata Hyuuga from any other person who tried to put her down and make her feel bad.

But it isn't onesided, though. Hinata tries her best to make it up to Kiba whenever she can—"_D-Don't worry about o-one girl, Kiba-kun! You're t-too good for her!_"—and for that, he's grateful, and manages to keep his spirits high…for the both of them.

Though, he can't help but ask himself: _What will happen when there's not a 'both' to keep spirits high FOR?_

Obviously this bothers him.

And obviously, without thinking, he voices his problem to Hinata.

"Er…Hina-chan?" he asks slowly, frowning down at his smoothie.

She looks up from sipping her drink, and blinks at his frown. "Y-yes Kiba-kun?"

He looks back at her, carefully trying to not stare her directly in the eye or he knows he'll chicken out. "Can I ask you something?"

"O-Of course!" she smiles at him, and he feels something inside him feel warmer. Then she grows worried, and the exact place grows extremely cold. "I…Is something wrong, Kiba-kun?"

"Uh…" he hesitates for a moment, and drops their staring contest, suddenly becoming shifty eyed. "Well, er, I…"

He quickly looks around for an escape route—anything to keep him away from saying his problem.

_Argh…Kiba, you're so stupid sometimes!_

Then he spots it.

An empty park.

He blinks, all nervousness gone in an instant. _Hey, isn't that…?_

_She sits on a swing, her head low, and her purple locks covering her face. But that doesn't stop him from knowing that she's crying, thanks to the shaking shoulders, and the shaky intake of breaths._

"_Hina-chan…" he bends down in front of her, voice soft and comforting. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?"_

_Watery white eyes look back at him, and the small girl sniffles._

"…_T-Those b-boys," she stutters, wiping her eyes miserably, "m-made f-fun of my e-eyes…"_

"_What boys?" he asks, suddenly feeling angry. "I'll take care of 'em for you! Just tell me where they—" _

"_N-No…that's o-okay," she giggles meekly. "T-Thank-you…K-Kiba-kun…"_

_He blinks, looking perplexed, and rather disappointed he wouldn't be able to give any wedgies out to any boys. "Eh?"_

_She smiles widely, sniffing a bit._

"_T-Thank-you for being t-there for me…f-for being my b-best friend."_

_He still stares at her, not exactly realizing what she had just said._

_But when he does register her words, he grins toothily, and grabs her hand. _

"_Anytime, Hina-chan. Anytime."_

He smiles softly at the memory, and nods to himself. _Yeah, that'll do nicely._

So he grabs her hand, and, leading her across the street, says, "C'mon! We'll talk at the park, when we're on the swings!"

"H-Huh? But K-Kiba-kun, I—eep!" she squeaks as he pulls her into the park (almost dragging her) and soon she finds herself sitting on a swing. Frowning a bit, she looks confusedly at her friend. "K-Kiba-kun…?"

He plops down next to her, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry, Hina-chan," he says, almost chuckling. "I just wanted to come back here. Good memories, y'know?"

She nods. "Y-Yes…I r-remember."

"I'm glad you do, but…" he trails off for a moment, then looks at her. "…will you always remember them? The memories of this park? Of _us_?"

"W-What…?"

"I don't mean to scare you or anything, Hina-chan," he adds, seeing her shocked look. "I just…I dunno…was kinda thinking about how graduation will be coming up, and how we'll have to go our separate ways, and all that, and…well…"

"…Y-You think I'll f-forget about you?" she finishes off, still sounding shocked.

He nods, not saying anything, and keeping his eyes on the ground.

"Kiba-kun, I…" she starts, but stops, and looks at the ground as well, almost shying away from what she wants to say. Then she grows firm, and looks back at him, looking determined. "N…No."

He looks back up, puzzedly. "Eh? 'No'?"

She grips her drink slightly tighter. "N-No…I won't let myself f-forget you. And I w-won't let you forget m-me either," she says, turning a bit red in the cheeks at the last part; he does too. She hurriedly continues on. "W-we've been friends since we were l-little, Kiba-kun…I…I don't w-want to lose that…and I-I don't think you do, either."

His eyes soften. "Hina-chan…"

"I-I've always been weak, and I've n-never been very confident a-about myself…or anything, r-really," she explains, looking rather embarrassed, "b-but…when I m-met you, Kiba-kun, I…I knew that I c-could be confident in s-something…I c-could be confident in…_us_."

There's a brief pause as she tries to collect up her words, and as he tries to keep himself from grabbing her and pulling her into his arms.

_Hina-chan…_

She turns a bit redder at his look, and looks back at him pleadingly. "S-So…p-please don't give up on our f-friendship! I d-don't want to forget you j-just because of g-graduation!"

He continues to look at her, not saying anything in reply to what she just said, nor showing any expression whatsoever on his face.

Then, very slowly, he smiles, grinning almost, and bursts out laughing.

She frowns. "…K-Kiba-kun…?"

"S-Sorry!" he chuckles, coughing down more laughter trying to escape his mouth. "It's just that…that…you looked so _adorable_ when you were giving that speech! And you sounded cute, too!"

"W-What!" she squeals, turning a dark red then bright pink. "B-But…I t-thought you were—!"

"Taking it seriously?" he asks, amusedly. "Yeah, of course I was! Didn't mean that I couldn't tease you though, right?" He winks at her, and laughs again. Then he sobers down and grins at her. "You're right, though, Hina-chan. What am I getting so worked up over? You're stuck with me, and I'm stuck with you—for good!"

She pouts a bit, but giggles anyway, and smiles back at him, nodding in agreement. His grin widens.

"And you know what?" he asks, softly.

She shakes his head, and watches as he leans his swing closer to hers, and turns red again when his face hovers close to hers.

"I think I like the sound of that!"

And he kisses her on the cheek, lightly and quickly, before pulling away, and grinning again, a little blush on his own cheeks.

"Bet I can beat you at swinging higher!" he cries, as if he never kissed her on the cheek.

She stares at him, surprised and stunned, before smiling, and beginning to swing herself.

"Y-You're on!" she calls back.

So their own little swinging war started.

People passing by wonder why teenagers—did they even _like_ parks, anymore?—are playing so happily on the swings, but don't ponder over it very long; as long as they aren't bothering anybody, they don't care what they do. And they _do _look happy, right?

But the two teens, swinging on the swings, don't notice this; they only notice each other, and the sky, which they try to reach, their hands outstretched, and laughter echoing through the air when Kiba almost falls off his swing when he does so.

Hinata ends up winning the swinging war.

Kiba's disappointed, but doesn't really care anymore when he sees her glowing face, her smile wider than most of her shy ones.

And, for the very first time, he thinks, and realizes one thing.

He may be the one to protect _her_…

…but she's the one to protect their _relationship_.

_**+fin+**_


End file.
